Get commodity pricing on your smart speaker

Checking local cash prices for many commodities got even easier – now you can simply ask a smart home device with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

“Successful Farming Live” is a new Alexa Skill and Google Action that gives you local cash prices and the price of many commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade from the CME Group.

Why launch a voice-activated program for farmers? Research shows there are more than 150 million voice-activated devices in the United States, and it’s been estimated that 50% of internet searches will be done by voice in 2020. Farmers need access to hand-free tools like this, so Successful Farming built this tool with Skilled Creative, a developer that has built dozens of voice-activated programs for many brands.

• Get “Successful Farming Live” from Amazon Alexa here
• Get the Google Assistant version of “Successful Farming Live” here
• Watch Successful Farming editor Megan Schilling demonstrate the Google Action here.

What are people listening to on their smart speakers? Music, weather, and news are common topics – all relevant to farmers. In the new “Successful Farming Live” program, the commodities you can search for include corn, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil, wheat, lean hogs, live cattle, and feeder cattle. The service also includes tips from Ag Growth International (AGI).

How do I get started?

On any Alexa device, just say “Alexa, open Successful Farming Live.”  The Skill will walk you through which commodity price you want, which contract month, and then ask if you want a local cash price (by ZIP code).

On Google, you can launch the Action by saying, “OK, Google, speak to Successful Farming Live.” It’s that easy. The Action will walk you through which commodity price you want, which contract month, and then ask if you want a local cash price (by ZIP code).

Here are a few of the devices the new Skill/Action works on:

• Amazon Alexa: Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show Echo Spot
• Google Assistant: Google Home, Google Home Hub, Google Home Mini, Google

The Skill/Action is just the latest addition to the Successful Farming Audio Network, which includes:

• Successful Farming Podcast – which includes regular interviews and features.
• Successful Farming Daily – a podcast of “Three Big Things” you need to know about agriculture each morning, available through multiple podcast providers or as a flash briefing through Alexa and Google. Subscribe to SF Daily here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Alexa | Google Assistant
• Successful Farming Radio – a twice-daily over-the-air radio program on more than 80 stations across the U.S.